First Day:
Her Artwork:
Second Day:
Her brother has been acting lethargic since Thursday, this was his take on his sister starting school:
Followed up with some cartoons and cuddling on the couch:
Friday, September 9, 2011
First Week of (Pre)School!
Hannie had started school this week; she is still beyond excited! This week was red week so they learned all about the color red. She even got to paint and do play-doh which are things we don't often do at home. I must say that with her curiosity of bathrooms she was probably most excited about the "little potty."
First Day:
Her Artwork:
Second Day:
Her brother has been acting lethargic since Thursday, this was his take on his sister starting school:
Followed up with some cartoons and cuddling on the couch:
First Day:
Her Artwork:
Second Day:
Her brother has been acting lethargic since Thursday, this was his take on his sister starting school:
Followed up with some cartoons and cuddling on the couch:
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Doctors and Hospitals
Friday, I went to the OB's office for a blood pressure check. With my symptoms (dizzy, blurred vision, headache, shortness of breath) and elevated blood pressure (168/110) I was sent to triage. Not exactly what I was wanting to hear. So Mom and I wander off to the maternity ward and check in to triage. I'm kept in triage for a short time but my pressure went down enough to be sent home.
Sunday rolls around and the same symptoms happen, with very light spotting added on for good measure. I call the doctor and they tell me to go to triage. Off I go again. This time they kept me in the hospital overnight. Not what I was expecting to hear. The doctor on call released me Monday and said to be on bed rest. I was kind of expecting that.
Tuesday I check in with my OB and she confirms that I will not be returning to work and will be placed on bed rest. Officially diagnosing me with mild preeclampsia. My BP was still on the high side 153/96 or something like that but she lets me go home this time.
From now until Amelia is born I will be on bed rest and will start seeing the OB twice a week for blood pressure checks and bio-physical profiles. If anything worsens and starts to affect her I'll be having a baby much sooner than November 1st. Although the OB has not changed my surgery day.
Today at the ultrasound appointment my doctor was very concerned about my current status. He doesn't think I'll make it to 39 weeks (my c-section day) and said he'd be surprised if I make it to my next appointment with him which is on October 4th. On the bright side Amelia is doing fantastic and I hope and pray it stays that way! She is in the 46th percentile, weighs 3 pounds 12 ounces and her heart rate was 138 which are all good things! I think she looks just like Carter ;)
Sunday rolls around and the same symptoms happen, with very light spotting added on for good measure. I call the doctor and they tell me to go to triage. Off I go again. This time they kept me in the hospital overnight. Not what I was expecting to hear. The doctor on call released me Monday and said to be on bed rest. I was kind of expecting that.
Tuesday I check in with my OB and she confirms that I will not be returning to work and will be placed on bed rest. Officially diagnosing me with mild preeclampsia. My BP was still on the high side 153/96 or something like that but she lets me go home this time.
From now until Amelia is born I will be on bed rest and will start seeing the OB twice a week for blood pressure checks and bio-physical profiles. If anything worsens and starts to affect her I'll be having a baby much sooner than November 1st. Although the OB has not changed my surgery day.
Today at the ultrasound appointment my doctor was very concerned about my current status. He doesn't think I'll make it to 39 weeks (my c-section day) and said he'd be surprised if I make it to my next appointment with him which is on October 4th. On the bright side Amelia is doing fantastic and I hope and pray it stays that way! She is in the 46th percentile, weighs 3 pounds 12 ounces and her heart rate was 138 which are all good things! I think she looks just like Carter ;)
Thursday, September 1, 2011
August: The Month of Suck
August has been quite the challenging month and I'm glad to say I somehow made it through alive with a little bit of sanity intact.
I'm not quite sure in what order everything started happening but somehow everything went out of whack this month and it became one thing right after the other (a term I hate to use). Our older car (a 2001) needed some repair work to the tune of around $800.00 that was spread over two visits. Then our van which is still fairly new needed repair work to the tune of around $300.00. No sooner did the van come out of the shop that our older car broke down leaving Tom and Carter stranded in a shopping center parking lot. After a tow to be serviced we find out that the fuel pump crapped out to the tune of almost $900.00. We managed to get through the great car debacle of 2011, thank God.
Next we have an earthquake, the first that I've experienced in my life. The most terrifying thing I've experienced especially when you're in an office building and you know there are two more floors above your head! Thankfully no structural damage occurred and I think some people didn't even notice the earthquake. I know that I'll never forget it!
After we got over the shock of an earthquake in little ol' Delaware I got to experience my second Hurricane ever. We thought we'd made it out okay until early in the morning when the Hurricane was nearly over. Our ceiling began leaking in two spots. Nice. Now we get the pleasure of figuring out and repairing whatever is wrong with the roof and once that's done we'll fix the drywall and replace insulation etc. Fun, fun, fun! Even my Dad who never really shows his frustration to me about stuff like that made the comment of: "If it's not one thing, it's 12 others!" I think Dad is enjoying August as much as I am.
My mother took a job in Shreveport, LA and will start on September 12th. I'm bummed that she's going since we are SO close and hang out pretty often throughout the week. I TOTALLY understand her needing/wanting to work and get money stored up and just have a little adventure too ;) I'm especially glad that my Granny is moving back to Missouri because my sanity really can't take much more. I love my Granny but taking care of her is literally like having another toddler and with a newborn on the way I just don't have it in me.
So there you have it folks, the real reason why my blood pressure is sky-high ;)
Welcome September!
I'm not quite sure in what order everything started happening but somehow everything went out of whack this month and it became one thing right after the other (a term I hate to use). Our older car (a 2001) needed some repair work to the tune of around $800.00 that was spread over two visits. Then our van which is still fairly new needed repair work to the tune of around $300.00. No sooner did the van come out of the shop that our older car broke down leaving Tom and Carter stranded in a shopping center parking lot. After a tow to be serviced we find out that the fuel pump crapped out to the tune of almost $900.00. We managed to get through the great car debacle of 2011, thank God.
Next we have an earthquake, the first that I've experienced in my life. The most terrifying thing I've experienced especially when you're in an office building and you know there are two more floors above your head! Thankfully no structural damage occurred and I think some people didn't even notice the earthquake. I know that I'll never forget it!
After we got over the shock of an earthquake in little ol' Delaware I got to experience my second Hurricane ever. We thought we'd made it out okay until early in the morning when the Hurricane was nearly over. Our ceiling began leaking in two spots. Nice. Now we get the pleasure of figuring out and repairing whatever is wrong with the roof and once that's done we'll fix the drywall and replace insulation etc. Fun, fun, fun! Even my Dad who never really shows his frustration to me about stuff like that made the comment of: "If it's not one thing, it's 12 others!" I think Dad is enjoying August as much as I am.
My mother took a job in Shreveport, LA and will start on September 12th. I'm bummed that she's going since we are SO close and hang out pretty often throughout the week. I TOTALLY understand her needing/wanting to work and get money stored up and just have a little adventure too ;) I'm especially glad that my Granny is moving back to Missouri because my sanity really can't take much more. I love my Granny but taking care of her is literally like having another toddler and with a newborn on the way I just don't have it in me.
So there you have it folks, the real reason why my blood pressure is sky-high ;)
Welcome September!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
That's The Sucks
Today marked my first of many bio-physical profiles. Directly after the ultrasound I had an appointment with the OB; now that I am about 31 weeks I'll begin to see the doctor every two weeks.
The ultrasound went well, Amelia was doing everything that she was supposed to do, fluid levels looked good, etc. The technician advised us that she weighed approximately 4 pounds. I have my doubts about the weight but I'll take her word for it, for now. Afterwards we headed down the hall to the OB.
You know the appointment is off to a bad start when the nurse asks if your blood pressure has been running high. It hadn't been until today apparently. I had the pleasure of lying on my left side for five minutes, the checked again. BP was still bad so I laid some more and they checked again. Still bad. Every time they checked it was higher, my final check it was 160/100. I have some protein in my urine so they sent me for "stat" blood work and I also have a 24 hour urine test in my future. I report back to the OB this Friday to check me again and hear what my labs showed. I don't know if I should be annoyed or cry. Tom joked with me that we pushed it by having a third and I advised that my "cooker" must be broken. I'm hoping this was a fluke incident and not a sign of preeclampsia :(
The ultrasound went well, Amelia was doing everything that she was supposed to do, fluid levels looked good, etc. The technician advised us that she weighed approximately 4 pounds. I have my doubts about the weight but I'll take her word for it, for now. Afterwards we headed down the hall to the OB.
You know the appointment is off to a bad start when the nurse asks if your blood pressure has been running high. It hadn't been until today apparently. I had the pleasure of lying on my left side for five minutes, the checked again. BP was still bad so I laid some more and they checked again. Still bad. Every time they checked it was higher, my final check it was 160/100. I have some protein in my urine so they sent me for "stat" blood work and I also have a 24 hour urine test in my future. I report back to the OB this Friday to check me again and hear what my labs showed. I don't know if I should be annoyed or cry. Tom joked with me that we pushed it by having a third and I advised that my "cooker" must be broken. I'm hoping this was a fluke incident and not a sign of preeclampsia :(
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Something Old, Something Blue
The other day I was checking the blogs I enjoy reading when I came across a post by my BF. To summarize she was discussing the tradition of women getting a gift from their husband when they have a baby. This got me to thinking...
Tom will usually get me a present as finances allow so it isn't usually the same time the baby is born 'cause babies are expensive. I'm a big jewelry person, I've loved jewelry since I was a little kid. I can still remember going through my mother's jewelry box, the carpet fibers pressing on my legs, looking at all of her rings and necklaces. Now I have my own collection and I imagine one day I'll find Hannie looking through my jewelry box too ;)
I've really lucked out in the children's birthstone department. Hannah is aquamarine and Tom bought me a very beautiful pear shaped aquamarine ring with white diamonds around it. Next is Carter and Tom again bought me another beautiful ring this one is a cushion-cut blue topaz for Carter's birth stone with black and white diamonds around the topaz. Both rings are very beautiful and both rings are a shade of blue. This gave me the idea that one day when/if my kids get married I will give them these rings on their wedding day as their "something old and something blue." Carter of course could give his ring to his future bride.
It then dawned on me that I never researched what the birthstone is for November, which is when Amelia will be born. Can I tell you folks, it's Citrine. For those of you not familiar with that stone it's like a yellow-orange color. Gross. I immediately went online and did manage to find a beautiful ring, that is of course sold out. (Story of my life) The more I thought about the Citrine the more I decided this warranted a call to Tom which went something like this:
H: Amelia's birthstone is not very pretty, it's a weird orange color. Maybe we should switch her birthday to the day prior.
T: (Slight pause) No, we are not making her birthday Halloween!
H: Well, one day, when I have lots of money and can have my mother's ring custom-made the Citrine won't be as pretty as an Opal would be...
T: That's selfish Heather, we are not switching her birthday to Halloween just so you can have the ring you want.
H: I did always want an October baby and Halloween could be fun...
T: No, Heather.
So, I didn't quite get my way but I thought my argument seemed reasonable at the time ;) Truth be told I did always want an October baby but our option was Halloween so we vetoed that before I made the surgery appointment for 11/1. The thought of Citrine made me quickly change my mind that Halloween really isn't all that bad but Tom declared it otherwise. I guess one day when I'm old and gray I'll have a very pretty cluster ring that contains: Aquamarine, Topaz and Citrine. And if Amelia doesn't like Citrine I'll let her know her Dad is to blame...blahahaha!
Tom will usually get me a present as finances allow so it isn't usually the same time the baby is born 'cause babies are expensive. I'm a big jewelry person, I've loved jewelry since I was a little kid. I can still remember going through my mother's jewelry box, the carpet fibers pressing on my legs, looking at all of her rings and necklaces. Now I have my own collection and I imagine one day I'll find Hannie looking through my jewelry box too ;)
I've really lucked out in the children's birthstone department. Hannah is aquamarine and Tom bought me a very beautiful pear shaped aquamarine ring with white diamonds around it. Next is Carter and Tom again bought me another beautiful ring this one is a cushion-cut blue topaz for Carter's birth stone with black and white diamonds around the topaz. Both rings are very beautiful and both rings are a shade of blue. This gave me the idea that one day when/if my kids get married I will give them these rings on their wedding day as their "something old and something blue." Carter of course could give his ring to his future bride.
It then dawned on me that I never researched what the birthstone is for November, which is when Amelia will be born. Can I tell you folks, it's Citrine. For those of you not familiar with that stone it's like a yellow-orange color. Gross. I immediately went online and did manage to find a beautiful ring, that is of course sold out. (Story of my life) The more I thought about the Citrine the more I decided this warranted a call to Tom which went something like this:
H: Amelia's birthstone is not very pretty, it's a weird orange color. Maybe we should switch her birthday to the day prior.
T: (Slight pause) No, we are not making her birthday Halloween!
H: Well, one day, when I have lots of money and can have my mother's ring custom-made the Citrine won't be as pretty as an Opal would be...
T: That's selfish Heather, we are not switching her birthday to Halloween just so you can have the ring you want.
H: I did always want an October baby and Halloween could be fun...
T: No, Heather.
So, I didn't quite get my way but I thought my argument seemed reasonable at the time ;) Truth be told I did always want an October baby but our option was Halloween so we vetoed that before I made the surgery appointment for 11/1. The thought of Citrine made me quickly change my mind that Halloween really isn't all that bad but Tom declared it otherwise. I guess one day when I'm old and gray I'll have a very pretty cluster ring that contains: Aquamarine, Topaz and Citrine. And if Amelia doesn't like Citrine I'll let her know her Dad is to blame...blahahaha!
Monday, August 22, 2011
A Crazy/Lazy Weekend...
The day had finally arrived on Friday when my best friend had her first baby! She went into labor early in the morning and he was not born until late into that night. I'm pretty sure I was more nervous for her than I was when I had my own children. The whole unexpectedness of labor had me wound up the entire day. At one point I forgot how to get to the hospital (which I had been to plenty of times before) because I was just so anxious! Baby Marcus came in with a bang as a thunderstorm had rolled in while his Mama was in labor; he sure knew how to make an entrance ;) Thankfully the labor went smoothly and I might have cried a few tears of joy and relief! He really is just the cutest thing.
The rest of the weekend didn't quite go as I had initially planned. I had a pounding headache Friday evening (thanks to the rain storm) that lasted all weekend until late Sunday night. Saturday, Tom went to work at 11:00 just as visiting hours at the hospital began and with my parents having company I was unable to make it back to the hospital to see everyone, hmph. Then we were going to go to the Peach Festival and for said reasons that also did not happen. By Sunday my headache moved into migraine status thanks to another rain storm and we skipped out on church. I'm pretty sure I laid around doing not much of anything the entire weekend long. So today is a catch up day. Ran a few errands this evening that I hadn't gotten to on the weekend and am now tackling laundry. I'm so ready to not be pregnant anymore.
The rest of the weekend didn't quite go as I had initially planned. I had a pounding headache Friday evening (thanks to the rain storm) that lasted all weekend until late Sunday night. Saturday, Tom went to work at 11:00 just as visiting hours at the hospital began and with my parents having company I was unable to make it back to the hospital to see everyone, hmph. Then we were going to go to the Peach Festival and for said reasons that also did not happen. By Sunday my headache moved into migraine status thanks to another rain storm and we skipped out on church. I'm pretty sure I laid around doing not much of anything the entire weekend long. So today is a catch up day. Ran a few errands this evening that I hadn't gotten to on the weekend and am now tackling laundry. I'm so ready to not be pregnant anymore.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
God is Sovereign
Last night as I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep I was thinking about the day's events.
I had an ultrasound appointment first thing in the morning which I was admittedly nervous to go to since the last one was less than super-fantastic. I along with many others have been praying for this whole "notching" business to be a none issue. While I don't stress and worry about it all the time I do from time to time go over the "what-if's" of the situation. That morning I was getting nervous and secretly hoping that the notching had decided to correct itself and also that no other issue would be unearthed.
I've been very blessed this pregnancy, third time must be the charm. My blood sugars and blood pressure have been fantastic and my thyroid while still being difficult to control has not affected the baby. I feel relatively well and have all the normal pregnancy complaints like being hot and my joints feeling like that of an 80-year-old woman ;) Very normal things. I really think I need pinched because it's going so well. This week I enter my seventh month of pregnancy and the third trimester. Being the logical thinker that I try to be I know that this show ain't over yet. The third trimester can sometimes be when the hem starts to unravel. Blood sugars are harder to maintain, blood pressure starts to spike and any other number of things could happen. I've been preparing myself for the worse while hoping for the best.
As my mother and I enter my appointment yesterday the tech asked if I had any new concerns or issues. I told her no but that I was wondering how my notching was doing. Once we get started she says, "Oh yeah, I can see the right is definitely notching." She moves to the left side, "And the left side is also definitely notching." I laughed to myself because I didn't have any notching on the right side last month, is was only the left side. I hold my commentary until the doctor makes his appearance. He tells me that the right is now notching and I laughed and told him I noticed that too. But, he says not to worry about it until my body starts acting like it's an issue. My mom asked what this means for the baby and I and he said that it puts me at an extremely high risk for preeclampsia. Just what you want to hear first thing in the morning. Amelia is doing great which is the most important thing so I'm going to rest on that and ignore the preeclampsia warning for now. This pregnancy is going very well and I'm going to sit back and enjoy it until my body tells me otherwise knowing that God is Sovereign and it's all in His hands.
Amelia's heart rate this appointment was 149, her weight was 2 pounds 5 ounces and she shot from the 34th percentile to the 53rd! Praise God, she is doing very well and looking very "normal" (as the doctor would say).
I had an ultrasound appointment first thing in the morning which I was admittedly nervous to go to since the last one was less than super-fantastic. I along with many others have been praying for this whole "notching" business to be a none issue. While I don't stress and worry about it all the time I do from time to time go over the "what-if's" of the situation. That morning I was getting nervous and secretly hoping that the notching had decided to correct itself and also that no other issue would be unearthed.
I've been very blessed this pregnancy, third time must be the charm. My blood sugars and blood pressure have been fantastic and my thyroid while still being difficult to control has not affected the baby. I feel relatively well and have all the normal pregnancy complaints like being hot and my joints feeling like that of an 80-year-old woman ;) Very normal things. I really think I need pinched because it's going so well. This week I enter my seventh month of pregnancy and the third trimester. Being the logical thinker that I try to be I know that this show ain't over yet. The third trimester can sometimes be when the hem starts to unravel. Blood sugars are harder to maintain, blood pressure starts to spike and any other number of things could happen. I've been preparing myself for the worse while hoping for the best.
As my mother and I enter my appointment yesterday the tech asked if I had any new concerns or issues. I told her no but that I was wondering how my notching was doing. Once we get started she says, "Oh yeah, I can see the right is definitely notching." She moves to the left side, "And the left side is also definitely notching." I laughed to myself because I didn't have any notching on the right side last month, is was only the left side. I hold my commentary until the doctor makes his appearance. He tells me that the right is now notching and I laughed and told him I noticed that too. But, he says not to worry about it until my body starts acting like it's an issue. My mom asked what this means for the baby and I and he said that it puts me at an extremely high risk for preeclampsia. Just what you want to hear first thing in the morning. Amelia is doing great which is the most important thing so I'm going to rest on that and ignore the preeclampsia warning for now. This pregnancy is going very well and I'm going to sit back and enjoy it until my body tells me otherwise knowing that God is Sovereign and it's all in His hands.
Amelia's heart rate this appointment was 149, her weight was 2 pounds 5 ounces and she shot from the 34th percentile to the 53rd! Praise God, she is doing very well and looking very "normal" (as the doctor would say).
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